Optical sensor for odometry tracking to determine trajectory of a wheel

ABSTRACT

An optical sensor system for determining trajectory of a wheel includes: a wheel mounted in a wheel arch having an outer surface covered with evenly-spaced wheel treads; a plurality of optical sensors mounted in the wheel arch but not touching the wheel, for performing a plurality of counts corresponding to respectively capturing a plurality of images of the wheel according to the wheel treads; and a plurality of clear casings respectively mounted in the wheel arch between the wheel and the plurality of optical sensors, but not touching the wheel. The captured images are compared with a reference image to determine a 2D displacement and a calculation is further performed to convert the measured 2D displacement of the wheel from its original position into a distance the wheel travels along a path in order to determine the wheel trajectory.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to optical sensors, and more particularly, to an optical sensor which can be used to perform odometry tracking.

2. Description of the Prior Art

Optical sensors, such as those commonly used in a computer mouse, can detect miniscule changes in direction in order to track the motion of an object over a 2D surface. Optical sensors work by illuminating the surface on which the object moves to capture an image, and comparing a reference image and the captured image in order to determine how far from the origin the object has moved. This image comparison generates accumulated delta y and delta x values; computer algorithms can then be used to determine the resultant motion of the object.

The advantage of optical sensors is that only a single sensor is needed to determine angular motion, as the optical sensor can generate both delta x and delta y values. Optical sensors are typically used in applications where only small distances need to be determined, however. If an optical sensor could be implemented in an application which moves via the use of wheels, the optical sensor could track the motion of the wheels and then convert the detected motion to real-life distance.

It is therefore an objective of the present invention to employ a single optical sensor for tracking motion of a wheel in order to perform distance and odometry tracking.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

An optical sensor system for determining trajectory of a wheel comprises: a wheel mounted in a wheel arch having an outer surface covered with evenly-spaced wheel treads; a plurality of optical sensors mounted in the wheel arch but not touching the wheel, for performing a plurality of counts corresponding to respectively capturing a plurality of images of the wheel according to the wheel treads; and a plurality of clear casings respectively mounted in the wheel arch between the wheel and the plurality of optical sensors, but not touching the wheel. The captured images are compared with a reference image to determine a 2D displacement and a calculation is further performed to convert the measured 2D displacement of the wheel from its original position into a distance the wheel travels along a path in order to determine the wheel trajectory.

A method for determining trajectory of a wheel comprises: mounting a wheel in a wheel arch, the wheel having an outer surface covered with evenly-spaced wheel treads; utilizing a plurality of optical sensors mounted in the wheel arch but not touching the wheel and respectively behind a plurality of clear casings which do not touch the wheel to perform the following steps: capturing a plurality of images of the wheel according to the wheel treads to generate a plurality of counts, respectively; comparing the captured images with a reference image to determine a 2D displacement of the wheel; and performing a calculation to convert the measured 2D displacement of the wheel from its original position into a distance the wheel travels along a path in order to determine the wheel trajectory.

These and other objectives of the present invention will no doubt become obvious to those of ordinary skill in the art after reading the following detailed description of the preferred embodiment that is illustrated in the various figures and drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is an illustration of an optical sensor mounted above a wheel.

FIG. 2A is an illustration of accumulated motion generated by a wheel moving in a straight direction.

FIG. 2B is an illustration of accumulated motion generated by a wheel moving in an angular direction.

FIG. 3A is an illustration of generated angular motion of the wheel illustrated in FIG. 2.

FIG. 3B is an illustration of trajectory of the wheel illustrated in FIG. 2 being the front wheel of a car.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

An exemplary embodiment of the present invention uses an optical sensor positioned above a wheel, as illustrated in FIG. 1. The odometry tracking system 100 comprises a wheel 150 mounted in a wheel arch 120. Three optical sensors 131, 161 and 191 are illustrated in the diagram, being positioned at the top of the wheel arch, at the right side of the wheel arch and at the left side of the wheel arch, respectively. Each optical sensor is protected by a respective casing 133, 163, and 193. Signals generated by the optical sensors 131, 161 and 191, and predetermined parameters of the odometry tracking system 100, are used to perform calculations. It is noted that an exemplary embodiment of the present invention only requires a single optical sensor of the illustrated optical sensors 131, 161, 191 in order to perform odometry tracking. The three sensors are illustrated in order to give examples as to possible placement, but not to limit the invention.

The casings 133, 163, 193 are provided in order to protect the respective optical sensor 131, 161, 191 from damage. These casings can be clear housings that are flush with the wheel arch 120 or protrude. The aim of the casings 133, 163, 193 is to protect the optical sensor 131, 161, 191 from damage. Further, when the optical sensor 131, 161, 191 is used to determine motion of a wheel in a car, the casing 133, 163, 193 can also protect it from splashes etc.

By using one of the optical sensors 131, 161, 191, an accurate determination of how far the wheel 150 has travelled, as well as the trajectory of the wheel 150, can be estimated. As detailed above, the optical sensors 131, 161, 191 are mounted on the top of the wheel arch 120. The wheel arch 120 could be a wheel arch of a motorized vehicle such as a car, or a wheel arch in a treadmill. As the wheel 150 rotates, the optical sensors 131, 161, 191 generate reports based on a number of treads which are imaged.

Refer to FIG. 2A and FIG. 2B, which illustrate how the reports/counts of the optical sensor generate accumulated motion parameters. FIG. 2A illustrates the generated accumulated motion when the wheel 150 rotates without turning. As shown in the diagram, no x values are generated but y values are generated in the opposite direction from the wheel motion. These accumulated values can be termed Dy.

FIG. 2B illustrates the generated accumulated motion when the wheel 150 rotates and turns at the same time. As shown in the diagram, both x and y values are generated in the opposite direction from the wheel motion. In order to determine the resultant distance of the wheel 150, the hypotenuse of Dx and Dy must be calculated. This value can then be translated into a real-world distance.

A calibration step generates a ratio that can be used for conversion. The calibration process is performed to calculate how far the wheel turns for each count of the sensor. As noted above, the count corresponds to a sensor tread of the sensor. Assuming the wheel rotates as illustrated in FIG. 2A, then it can be calculated how far in real terms the wheel turns because the circumference, C, of the wheel is a known value.

The circumference of the wheel can be calculated using the Pythagorean equation: C=2πr

As the wheel rotates, delta y values are accumulated until Dy corresponds to one rotation of the wheel. The accumulated value Dy has a direct relationship to C. It is determined how many reports/counts there are in Dy, and this value is used to divide the circumference C in order to generate a distance per count (dpc). This is illustrated by the following equation:

$\begin{matrix} {{dpc} = {\frac{c}{Dy} = \frac{2\pi\; r}{Dy}}} & (1) \end{matrix}$

A trajectory of the wheel 150 is then determined. If the optical sensor 131, 161, 191 only plots a change in the y direction, i.e. only delta y values are generated, then the wheel 150 is determined to be rotating without turning and a simple conversion of counts can be used to generate the distance travelled by the wheel 150. If, however, the wheel 150 is both turning and rotating then the angle θ of the wheel turn can be calculated using simple trigonometry, as illustrated in FIG. 3A and shown by the following equation:

$\begin{matrix} {{\tan\;\theta} = \frac{Dx}{Dy}} & (2) \end{matrix}$

Once the turning angle of the wheel 150 is determined, a trajectory of the wheel 150 can be plotted, as illustrated in FIG. 3B. FIG. 3B is a diagram of the odometry system 100 being a car with four wheels. The front right-hand wheel is the wheel 150 illustrated in FIG. 3B. As the turning angle θ of the wheel 150 is known, the internal angle between the wheel and the side of the car can be calculated by using right angles i.e. 90°−θ.

A perpendicular line to the turned wheel 150 will intersect with an extended line from the rear axles of the car 100 to form a right-angled triangle having sides L, R and E. L is the length of the car 100 and therefore is a known value. Using trigonometry, the length of R and E can be calculated, as illustrated by the following equations:

$\begin{matrix} {R = \frac{L}{\sin\;\theta}} & (3) \end{matrix}$

$\begin{matrix} {E = \frac{L}{\cos\;\theta}} & (4) \end{matrix}$

As illustrated by the dotted lines, the car 100 will move along a curve having a radius R from point O. By using the optical sensor 131, 161, 191 to determine a rotated distance of the wheel 150 and converting that distance into real-world values, a total distance d moved along the curve by the car 100 can be calculated.

As detailed above, a distance per count has been calculated in the calibration stage. This value can be used to calculate a real distance taken by the vehicle 100. When the vehicle 100 moves in a straight direction i.e. no change in x, the values can be directly put into equation (1) by multiplying a number of counts (treads) with the distance per count. In effect, this converts a distance monitored by the optical sensor 131, 161, 191 into a real distance. This is shown below as equation (5): Distance=Dy×dpc

If the vehicle 100 is turning, the displacement measured by the optical sensor 131, 161, 191 is calculated number by using the hypotenuse of Dx and Dy. This value is then converted into counts, and is multiplied with the value dpc to determine a distance travelled along the curve. This is shown below as equation (6): Distance=√{square root over (Dx ² +Dy ²)}×dpc

The final stage in the calculation places this determined distance on the curve calculated in FIG. 3B. In this way, a trajectory of a wheel can be calculated to high accuracy.

Although the above is described using a car as an exemplary embodiment, it should be appreciated that the concept can be applied to any application which tracks the motion of a wheel. Further, the optical sensor can also be calibrated to determine a vertical distance from the wheel, so that if air pressure of the wheel changes or some other factors cause the distance between the optical sensor and the wheel to change (the vehicle moves over rocky terrain, for example) the change in distance can be compensated for.

No matter what implementation the optical sensor is applied to, the wheel radius should be set as a known parameter in an initialization procedure. In the example provided in FIG. 3B, the length of the car L and the distance between the rear axles W will be known values and can also be set as the initialization parameters. This is not a limitation of the invention.

To summarize, the present invention provides an optical sensor which can utilize changes in 2D motion of a wheel to determine angular motion of the wheel. By plotting a trajectory of the wheel using the determined change in motion, a distance the wheel moves along said trajectory can also be determined.

Those skilled in the art will readily observe that numerous modifications and alterations of the device and method may be made while retaining the teachings of the invention. Accordingly, the above disclosure should be construed as limited only by the metes and bounds of the appended claims. 

What is claimed is:
 1. An optical sensor system mounted in a wheel arch in a car for counting an outer surface of a wheel covered with evenly-spaced wheel treads to determine trajectory of the wheel, the optical sensor system comprising: a first optical sensor mounted in the wheel arch above the wheel for performing a plurality of counts corresponding to respectively capturing a plurality of images of the wheel according to the wheel treads; a first clear casing mounted in the wheel arch between the wheel and the first optical sensor, but not touching the wheel; a second optical sensor mounted in the wheel arch on one side of the wheel for performing a plurality of counts corresponding to respectively capturing a plurality of images of the wheel according to the wheel treads; a second clear casing mounted in the wheel arch between the wheel and the second optical sensor, but not touching the wheel; a third optical sensor mounted in the wheel arch on the other side of the wheel for performing a plurality of counts corresponding to respectively capturing a plurality of images of the wheel according to the wheel treads; and a third clear casing mounted in the wheel arch between the wheel and the third optical sensor, but not touching the wheel; wherein the captured images are compared with a reference image to determine a 2D displacement, a calculation is performed to convert the measured 2D displacement of the wheel from its original position into a distance the wheel travels along a path in order to determine the wheel trajectory, the wheel trajectory is determined by calculating a turning degree of the wheel according to a trigonometric manipulation of the captured 2D displacement, the calculated turning degree and at least a distance between a front wheel axle and a rear wheel axle of the car are utilized to determine a turning curve along which the wheel moves, the turning curve being centered on a point where an extended line from the rear axle crosses a perpendicular line to the front axle.
 2. The optical sensor system of claim 1, wherein a calibration process is first performed by measuring a 2D displacement of the wheel corresponding to a single rotation of the wheel, determining how many counts are performed according to this single rotation, then utilizing a circumference of the wheel to determine a distance per count (dpc) value, wherein the dpc value is used to convert the measured 2D displacement into a distance the wheel travels along a path.
 3. The optical sensor system of claim 2, wherein the calibration process is performed when the wheel rotates but does not turn.
 4. A method for using an optical sensor system mounted in a wheel arch in a car to count an outer surface of a wheel covered with evenly-spaced wheel treads to determine trajectory of the wheel, the method comprising: utilizing a first optical sensor mounted in the wheel arch above the wheel and behind a first clear casing which does not touch the wheel, a second optical sensor mounted in the wheel arch on one side of the wheel and behind a second clear casing which does not touch the wheel, and a third optical sensor mounted in the wheel arch on the other side of the wheel and behind a third clear casing which does not touch the wheel to perform the following steps: capturing a plurality of images of the wheel according to the wheel treads to generate a plurality of counts, respectively; comparing the captured images with a reference image to determine a 2D displacement of the wheel; and performing a calculation to convert the measured 2D displacement of the wheel from its original position into a distance the wheel travels along a path in order to determine the wheel trajectory, comprising: calculating a turning degree of the wheel according to a trigonometric manipulation of the captured 2D displacement; and utilizing the calculated turning degree and at least a distance between a front wheel axle and a rear wheel axle of the car to determine a turning curve along which the wheel moves, the turning curve being centered on a point where an extended line from the rear axle crosses a perpendicular line to the front axle.
 5. The method of claim 4, wherein a calibration process is first performed comprising the following steps: measuring a 2D displacement of the wheel corresponding to a single rotation of the wheel; determining how many counts are performed according to this single rotation; and utilizing a circumference of the wheel to determine a distance per count (dpc) value; wherein the dpc value is used to convert the measured 2D displacement into a distance the wheel travels along a path.
 6. The method of claim 5, wherein the calibration process is performed when the wheel rotates but does not turn. 